The World Bank has approved a $209 million loan supporting the country’s fisheries sector, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.
According to the BFAR, the seven-year Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) project has obtained $209 million (P11.42 billion) from the World Bank for multiple fisheries interventions enhancing both the ecosystem and the community of some 1.15 million fisherfolk, small and medium enterprises, fisheries stakeholders, and residents across 11 regions and 24 provinces in the country.
The FishCoRe project seeks to boost fisheries production and elevate income in coastal communities through science, knowledge and technology.
Specifically, the project will support the development and implementation of appropriate fisheries management policies, improve institutional capacities for strengthened law enforcement, establish support facilities for the rehabilitation of coastal and marine habitats and other necessary investments to balance increasing productivity while conserving the country’s natural resources..
FishCoRe will be implemented in two fisheries management areas (FMA 6 and 9) or the major fishing grounds on the northwest coast of Luzon and in archipelagic waters in the Visayas and Mindanao selected by the Department of Agriculture and BFAR.
“This project is a holistic approach which confronts from all sides the various long-standing issues being faced by the fisheries sector; from ensuring the sustainability of our fisheries and coastal resources for food security, to enabling maximized benefits of our fisherfolk towards poverty reduction through improved management on all facets to ensure a robust and resilient fisheries sector,” Demosthenes Escoto, BFAR national director, said.
